AST Marine Networks, a division of The AST Group (AST), won the contract to supply Dutch shipping company, Spliethoff, with global VSAT and L-band satellite communications for more than 80 of its vessels across multiple fleets.

Ocean transport and dry cargo specialist, Spliethoff, has chosen AST to supply its global satellite communications solutions. Together with network partner ITC Global, AST will provide Spliethoff with a global Ku VSAT network, failover L-band services, hardware and bandwidth as well as 24/7 manned support. As a subsidiary of Panasonic, ITC Global leverages its parent company’s broadband network, purpose-built and designed specifically for global mobility markets.

“Changes in the airtime market, forced us to look for a new solution quicker than anticipated”, explained Peter Van de Venne, Spliethoff’s Director IT. “AST proved to be a professional provider, willing to go the extra mile and adapting to our needs/requirements”

AST’s comprehensive, global network and customer service were key considerations for Spliethoff, as was the ability to complete the network migration quickly and without any disruption of service. AST Marine Networks are specialists in building custom solutions, integrating hardware, software and airtime packages, and successfully completed a seamless migration of the Spliethoff network with no downtime or interruption of service.

“The migration went very smoothly (about 80 ships in nearly 2 weeks)”, commented Van de Venne. “After migration, the support organisation proved proactive and thorough. When visiting AST, it was a pleasure seeing that support tickets were not evaluated on the speed of closing, but on the actual evaluation feedback from the end customer.”

We look forward to working with AST towards a next generation Internet connectivity on board in which we address challenges like improved cyber security, multiple supplier remote access, broadening sensor data requirements and video applications.”

AST Director, Stuart Castell, said: “Spliethoff is a tech-savvy and forward-thinking organisation, well-respected for their reliability and high-quality standards. We are proud to add a company of Spliethoff’s stature and reputation to our ever-growing portfolio of maritime VSAT customers.”

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